60th of Season of Fire, 59th year of the 32nd cycle

"I shall feast on your cores!" The rampaging fire drake devoured the distance between them, covering dozens of yards every second, knocking down trees and houses without noticing them.

Unlike the rest of his team, Newt didn't need to meditate to hasten his mana recovery, so he simply observed the monster. His breath slowly quickened as he grew increasingly anxious about the battle.

Back at the jungle, he and the other survivors hid from the fifth realm manabeasts. They even avoided fights with the fourth realm ones, since they were unarmed. And now, now he would have to fight the toughest manabeast he had ever faced.

He couldn't tell the drake's exact realm, but it appeared stronger and faster than the dreadwalker, and that was bad news for his team. He estimated the monster's height at ten feet, its length around thirty or more, the flickering tail too difficult for his eyes to catch.

The monster would be upon them in a minute or two, but Newt's eyesight was sharp enough to notice the liquid fire dribbling from the drake's open mouth as well as the trail of burning earth where the flames had dropped.

"Don't be nervous," Rexheart nearly gave Newt a heart attack. "Being afraid is fine, natural, but you can't let it negatively impact your combat ability."

"What do you think?" Newt ignored the subject of fear and focused on the imminent disaster.

"I think Twochains, Rose, and Mallet have reached the castle and are talking with Champion Dew. We need to hold out a minute or two before she can come help us."

Minute or two… We defeated the dreadwalker in less than that, but all it needed to kill us was a moment of inattention. And this drake is more powerful.

"Do you think we can make it?"

"It's do or die." Rexheart remained calm. "Everything in our lives is do or die, this is no exception."

Newt deeply disagreed with those words. Then again, Rexheart was the top student of the order. Perhaps one needed his mentality to reach the apex of power.

Newt had nothing more to say. The only sounds in his ear were the wind and his heartbeat, but gradually, the thudding of the drake's bounds joined in. Its pace was insane, and Newt's heart was doing its best to match it.

Finally, the beast started climbing the mountain, and the Explorer's Gate's students were ready.

"Mana, Loch?"

"Bit over half, Rex."

"Pace yourself. Breeze, keep to the back, you too, Lightcloud, be ready to heal if anyone needs it."

Newt considered his party - an airhead, a hothead, a rockhead, two coolheads, one of which a dedicated healer, and him.

Lightcloud drew an arrow, but didn't infuse any mana into it. He let loose, and the missile flew straight at the drake, exploding as it struck the monster's back.

The drake didn't even stumble, despite being mid-jump.

"Fifth realm definitely," Lightcloud said what they all knew and retreated.

Five fourth realm mageknights, and Newt, equivalent to a fifth realm knight with somewhat enhanced senses, should be able to kill it with some losses. Whether those losses were deaths or injuries remained to be seen.

"Newt, with me." Rexheart led the charge as the drake closed the last few hundred yards.

Smelling ash, his heart drumming in his chest, Newt dashed after him, hearing the rest of the team move behind them. Rexheart slashed at the drake, meeting its claw swipe with his sword.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

The man pivoted, sword rising above his head, and the drake's claws found nothing but air before the sword cleaved down at the extended limb. The drake proved faster and dodged, but before it could counterattack, Newt stabbed at it.

The glaive, moving faster than Newt's eye could follow, bit towards the base of the drake's shoulder. With a boneless twist, the saurian moved, the glaive ripping its scales while leaving a shallow gash.

Newt's whole head burned with phantom pain. He arched his back, the drake's talons sweeping where his head had stood a split-second ago. His glaive too extended to exert force, Newt used it to push himself back without harming the drake.

Rexheart slashed again, and the drake used its chance. It snapped its jaws at him, but a wall of rock appeared between them and shattered the next moment, showering Rexheart with debris, but slowing the bite enough to dodge.

Newt used the dust cloud, cleaving down with his glaive. The drake swatted it away and spun, slapping at Newt with its tail. Newt's ribs burned, but there was no dodging. Instead, he jumped along, following the blow and minimizing the damage, while Granite Crust soaked the greatly reduced force.

Newt was sent flying, barely saving himself from a second grievous injury. And only three seconds had passed.

He spun in the air, stabbed his glaive into the ground, and caught himself a dozen yards away before jumping straight back. He lost sight of Rexheart and the rest, believing they knew what to do and how to keep themselves safe. Sparing any attention had proved beyond him.

The monster moved so fast, Newt stopped trying to follow its intent. He attacked when he saw an opening, with the drake blocking or dodging most of his blows.

The creature focused on him, since his glaive pierced its scales whenever its blade managed to land. Newt's world turned into one of flares of phantom pain and twisting and jumping to stay a step ahead and keep it from becoming physical.

Newt failed. He blocked a claw with the haft of his glaive, the smashing force staggering him. His throat burned, and he swayed, then Granite Crust burst on his shoulder and his flesh exploded with searing pain.

The stench of seared meat followed the blood boiling inside Newt's veins as he flew and the world spun. Newt blinked, regained his bearings, and stopped himself from skidding down the mountain.

He immediately looked at the drake a hundred yards away, but while the beast wanted to chase and finish him off, Rexheart held it at bay. Newt straightened himself and ran uphill while checking his wound.

The bone was whole, the muscle torn, mobility limited. His right arm was maimed, fancy maneuvers beyond him, but he could still prove a distraction.

"Let me help you," Lightcloud came dashing over.

Newt looked at Rexheart, Loch, and Marigold. His friends were struggling, but waiting a few seconds should be fine. Decision made, he dashed to meet Lightcloud.

"It's dislocated." The man popped Newt's shoulder back into place and started healing, but after two seconds gave up. "It would take minutes to heal properly. I've patched an artery, but that's all I can do immediately."

Newt agreed and ran back to the fray, drake exploding with fire. The sudden surge threw the humans back, Rexheart and Loch screaming, steam rising off Marigold, who was the only one still standing.

The drake moved like lightning, its claw smashing the woman's waist, folding her like a rag and sending her tumbling down the mountain, broken. The drake was about to pursue, but spotted Newt.

It gave up its prey and leaped at Newt. He thought the jump a chance, moving the glaive and bracing it to let the drake impale itself, but the beast moved with impossible agility, flames bursting from its body and propelling it over Newt.

Newt's other shoulder flared with pain, and he ducked just as the tail slapped down. It missed, scraping against Granite Crust before smashing into the rocky ground with enough force to shake Newt where he stood.

Newt spun, sweeping his glaive in his extended left hand to keep the drake at bay, and the beast jumped away from the only weapon it had come to fear during the encounter. Newt stopped the sweep, pointing the glaive at the drake's eye and lunging forward, grabbing the haft with his wounded right.

Once more, the drake batted the weapon away, and instead of attacking, it opened its maw wide, revealing a flaming abyss. Fire surged out, the jet crashing into Newt. Magmin Scales held, but mana burned through his body, the elemental balance once more restored after Granite Crust greedily drank Newt's earth mana.

The fire disappeared, Newt's eyes seeing nothing but blue blots from the heat, but his mindcore worked just fine. The drake's brilliant outline blazed, and Newt stabbed straight into the open maw once more.

The jaws snapped closed, trapping the blade. Newt could feel the drake's excitement at having trapped him.

Then, an orb of water big enough to fit Newt smashed into the drake from above. Something cracked, and the drake roared, unleashing another inferno, which consumed Newt's mana without mercy, but it didn't matter.

With the jaws open, Newt reinforced his arms with earth. His mobility was limited, but he didn't need it. His blade was where he wanted it. He just added stability and power to his grip, then leapt forward, stabbing the drake straight through the skull, running its brain on his glaive.

The world froze for a moment, then the drake fell, thrashing on the ground as Newt drew back his weapon. The dying monster clawed and raked and slapped the rocks with its tail, shattering them to dust, but it was all in vain.

Newt had used the moment of distraction and slain it.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.